Nui is an

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...

and one of nine districts of the Pacific Ocean state of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...

. It has a land area of 3.37 km² and a population of 610 (2017 Census). Traditionally Nuian culture is organised in three family circles – Tekaubaonga, Tekaunimala and Tekaunibiti families. Most people live on the western end of

Fenua Tapu Fenua Tapu is an islet of Nui atoll in the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu. It is the most southern and most eastern islet of Nui and is the largest (area 1.38 km2). Most Nuians live on the western end of Fenua Tapu, where a village including t ...

. In the 2012 census, 321 people live in Alamoni – Maiaki and 221 people live in Manutalake – Meang (

Tanrake Tanrake is a village in Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and ...

). The junior school is Vaipuna Primary School.

Geography

Nui consists of at least 21 islets. These are: *

* Motupuakaka * Pakantou * Piliaieve * Pongalei * Talalolae * Telikiai, also known as ''Meang'' * Tokinivae * Unimai * and at least 12 other islands The biggest, most southern and most eastern island is

(area 1.38 km²), which is followed by Telikiai (which is the most western islet), Tokinivae, Pongalei, Talalolae, Pakantou, Unimai, Piliaieve and Motupuakaka.

Languages

The people of Nui speak the

Gilbertese language Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati, also Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of the i ...

, the language of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

, and Tuvaluan, the official language of

. The ancestors of Nui came from both

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

in what is now Kiribati.

Early history

The island was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568 by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

navigator Álvaro de Mendaña, who named it ''Isla de Jesús'' (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because it was discovered on the day following the feast of the Holy Name. There are no less than six accounts of this event, that of Mendaña himself being as follows: "A little after nine o'clock in the morning, a lad called Trejo, being aloft, first sighted land upon the starboard side to the southwest...When we drew near, we found it so small that it was no more than six leagues in circumference. This island was very full of trees like palms; towards the north it had a reef, which entered the sea a quarter of a league, and towards the south was another smaller reef. On the west side it had a strand lying lengthways, with reefs in different parts. This is on the west side, for we could not go round the east side because of the weather. Taking this island from the sea outwards, it has the shape of two

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

s, with a copse in the middle which appears like a fleet of ships" Mendaña found the island inhabited and five canoes came nearly within bow shot of his ship, when their occupants raised their paddles and turned back with shouts. Mendaña thereupon ordered signals to be made to them with a white cloth to try to get them to return, instead of which they landed and in turn stuck up signals along the shore. At night one of the ships showed a light, it was copied by a fire, and when it was put out the fire extinguished also. Hernán Gallego, Mendaña's pilot, says the natives were "naked and

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...

es" and

Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (1532–1592) was a Spanish explorer, author, historian, mathematician, and astronomer. His birthplace is not certain and may have been Pontevedra, in Galicia, where his paternal family originated, or Alcalá de Henare ...

cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scal ...

in the expedition reported that the island "had a large fishery". As it was late Mendaña decided to defer landing until the morning and kept the ships tacking all night. With the dawn, however, a strong westerly storm blew up, and although they tried all day to regain the island they were at length compelled to give up. TROOST(1829) p405 Platte Grond van het Nederlandsch-Eiland.jpg, Dutch map of the island, made in June 1825 TROOST(1829) p297 Het Nederlandsch Eiland.jpg, View of the main island TROOST(1829) p293 Het Nederlandsch Eilanden.jpg, View of the atoll A Dutch expedition (the frigate ''Maria Reijgersbergen'') found Nui on the morning of 14 June 1825 and named the main island (

) as ''Nederlandsch Eiland'' (Dutch Island). The atoll has been called Egg or Netherland Island. Martin Kleis family

The population of Nui from 1860 to 1900 is estimated to be between 250 and 300 people. Kirisome, was Nui's first and long serving pastor (1865–99). Martin Kleis was the resident trader on Nui in the late 19th century who sold

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

to Henderson and Macfarlane. The photographer Thomas Andrew visited Nui in about 1885–86. Nui Post Office opened around 1919 and a climate station was established in 1941. The traditional outrigger canoes ( ''paopao'') from Nui were constructed with an indirect type of outrigger attachment and the hull is double-ended, with no distinct bow and stern. These canoes were designed to be sailed over the Nui lagoon. The booms of the outrigger are longer than those found in other designs of canoes from the other islands. This made the Nui canoe more stable when used with a sail than the other designs. Celebrations are held on Nui on 16 February – ''Bogin te Ieka'' (Day of the Flood) – to commemorate the

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

that struck the island on that day in 1882.

Cyclone ''Pam'', March 2015

Nui was affected by storm surges caused by Cyclone ''Pam'' in early March 2015, which caused damage to houses, crops and infrastructure. On 22 March 71 families (40 per cent of the population) of Nui remained displaced and were living in 3 evacuation centres or with other families. The Situation Report published on 30 March reported that Nui suffered the most damage of the three central islands (Nui,

Nukufetau Nukufetau is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu. The atoll was claimed by the US under the Guano Islands Act some time in the 19th century and was ceded in a treaty of friendship concluded in 1979 and coming into force in 1983. It has ...

and Vaitupu); with Nui suffering the loss of 90% of the crops. Health assessment teams visited Nui and the other islands affected by Cyclone Pam.

General election, 2019

The 2019 general election was held on 9 September 2019.

Puakena Boreham Puakena Boreham (born 18 December 1970) is a medical practitioner (anaesthetist) who became a Tuvaluan politician, when she was elected to represent Nui in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. She was appointed as the Minister of Works and Natur ...

and

Mackenzie Kiritome Mackenzie Kiritome is the owner of a trading company, who became a Tuvaluan politician when he was elected to represent Nui in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election General elections were held in Tuvalu on 31 March 2015. The state of emergency c ...

were re-elected to represent Nui in the parliament.

Notable local people

Sir Iakoba Italeli (GCMC) has been the Governor-General of Tuvalu since 16 April 2010 and was a former Minister of Education, Sports and Health, representing Nui in the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Alesana Kleis Seluka (MBE, CBE) is medical doctor by profession and Chairman of the Public Service Commission of Tuvalu. He has represented Nui in the parliament. He served as the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning from 1996 until 1999, and Minister of Health from 2001 to 2006. Isaia Taeia Italeli was the Minister for Natural Resources at the time of his death in 2011. Pelenike Isaia became the second woman ever to have sat in the

Parliament of Tuvalu The Parliament of Tuvalu (called ''Fale i Fono'' in Tuvaluan, or ''Palamene o Tuvalu'') is the unicameral national legislature of Tuvalu. The place at which the parliament sits is called the ''Vaiaku maneapa''. The ''maneapa'' on each island is ...

, she became an MP in the by-election following the death of her husband – Isaia Taeia Italeli – and represented Nui until the

2015 Tuvaluan general election General elections were held in Tuvalu on 31 March 2015. The state of emergency created by Cyclone Pam resulted in the election being delayed twice. The election was originally scheduled for 19 March, then after Cyclone Pam caused damage to the is ...

Mamao Keneseli Mamao Keneseli is a Tuvaluan women's community development leader, activist and teacher. She is noted for her work on Nui atoll, where she has fought to raise the status of women. She began a career in teaching primary school children in 1981, and ...

is a community development leader on Nui, where she became involved with running a women's handicraft centre in 1990, teaching women how to develop their skills and earn a living. From 2010 to 2017 she was the director of the Matapulapula Women's Group.

References

External links

Map of Nui

containing discussion of history of Nui
{{authority control Atolls of Tuvalu